A woman in Mumbai was swindled out of Rs24,999 (US$387) by cybercriminals who offered her a holiday in Goa via SMS, according to media reports.
On June 8, the woman received an SMS from an unknown number offering her a three-day stay at a resort in Goa and telling her to phone a person named Praneet, who told her about a special offer. She was then emailed further information about prices along with pictures of the accommodation and facilities.
She then used a number Praneet had given her to speak to the “manager” of the resort. The next day, the woman, who works in a newspaper’s marketing department, transferred Rs24,999 to an account number she had been given and was informed that her three tickets for a three-day stay at the resort from June 23 would be sent to her address, the Hindustan Times reported. When she did not receive her tickets, she tried to contact them without success. A case has been registered.
A police official said: “The woman should not have made an advance payment without meeting the person. We are going through the call records and tracing the email address used by the fraudsters. We will take help from the cyber police as well. The possibility of the accused duping more people using the same modus operandi cannot be ruled out.”